Germany strikes a brave new deal on immigration
A new citizenship law is followed by huge protests against far-right xenophobia
GERMANY’S DEBATE over migration sometimes seems divorced from reality. The country’s low birth rate and shrinking workforce imply a pressing need to import manpower. Yet much political talk is concerned with how to keep immigrants out. The anti-immigration right is surging in opinion polls. Even otherwise liberal folk are increasingly prone to say that “certain kinds” of immigrants are alien to the Leitkultur, a fuzzy concept of Germanness.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Fresh Bürger”
Europe January 27th 2024
- Giorgia Meloni has proved the doubters wrong
- Germany strikes a brave new deal on immigration
- Geert Wilders makes a show of respecting the law
- Many Austrians feel their way of life is under threat
- Europe’s new plan to safeguard its economy
- The EU’s €50bn package for Ukraine is a far cry from its rhetoric
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